Sepsis, Which Killed Actress Patty, Duke More Common Than Most Realize

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Bob Hallinan

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New reports show that beloved Academy Award-winning actress Patty Duke died as a result of sepsis from a ruptured intestine. But according to Dr. Steven Simpson, a critical care physician at The University of Kansas Health System, most people don’t know what sepsis is, let alone that it’s the leading cause of disease-related deaths in the country, killing more people than even heart disease. He says it kills 500 people a day, or as many as three million people a year.

In the video, Dr. Simpson explains what sepsis is, how you get it, what causes it, what the symptoms are, how it’s treated and what The University of Kansas Hospital has done to stop sepsis through the whole state of Kansas.